Duignan hits out over county training as GPA bites back

Offaly County Board chairman Michael Duignan has blasted what he calls the “hypocrisy” and “dishonest” message the GAA is sending out regarding inter-county training.

Speaking on Newstalk’s Off The Ball programme, Duignan hit out at inter-county managers for putting pressure on players in relation to training. In an outspoken interview, the GAA at national level and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) also came under fire from Duignan.

“We are just coming out of an unprecedented time of our lives, and we can’t talk out of both sides of our mouth here,” said Duignan (pictured above).

“If community is going to be first and club is going to be first, it would have been easier to bring back county first, from a logistical point of view. The decision was made to go back with their clubs because every player is a club player.

"I’m disillusioned with the direction from inter-county managers, first of all for putting pressure on their players to get back training because players will do whatever they are asked to do,” continued the former St Rynagh’s and Offaly hurling star.

“I am starting with inter-county managers, then county boards for allowing it to happen. I’m also disillusioned with Croke Park for not coming up with stricter sanctions and the players themselves and the GPA in particular for not standing up and saying ‘we’re not accepting this’.

“It is hypocrisy, it is dishonest. What sort of message are we sending to young men, who are supposed to be leaders of their community, between 22 and 25 years of age?”

GAA Director General Tom Ryan said last week that no penalties would be imposed on county teams who begin training before the agreed date of September 14. Instead, the association is encouraging people to “call them out” if they see teams breaking this rule. However, Ryan didn’t rule out the prospect of penalties coming into play if they see fit at a later date.

Meanwhile, the GPA has issued a statement in response to criticism coming its way. The GPA statement refers to an “unfortunate” club v county narrative that has developed around the return to play of Gaelic games.

The GPA said that the optimism about the resumption of football and hurling has been “eroded” by the “sustained negative discourse surrounding inter-county players”.

And it has contended that it is up to the individual county boards to ensure inter-county training is not sanctioned.

“The last week has seen significant progress being made towards the return of our games across the country. It is hugely positive to see pitches open again and teams getting back together.

"However, that air of optimism has been eroded somewhat by the ‘club v county’ narrative that has developed. This is very unfortunate, given a few short weeks ago we had the very real possibility that we would not see any action in 2020. That risk very clearly remains when we see what is developing across the world,” said the GPA statement.

“Collectively, the GAA community have played a huge role in the tireless work this country has undertaken to fight Covid-19, which remains a very real threat to not just our games but society as a whole. Our focus needs to remain on following the protocols so that we minimise that risk to our communities and ensure we have a programme of games to enjoy at both club and county level.”

Having reminded all concerned that there should be no collective inter-county training prior to September 14, the GPA added: “However, it would be highly negligent of us, and utterly wrong, as the body charged with looking after inter-county player welfare, not to seek to have any such training covered by the GAA Injury Benefit Scheme, should these sessions be sanctioned by their respective counties. It is the role of each county board to ensure that these training sessions are not sanctioned prior to the agreed dates.”